Chappell Roan is reflecting on the lessons of superstardom.
Originally appeared on E! Online
Please, please, please don’t let Sabrina Carpenter’s performance end.
The “Espresso” singer — who is nominated for six Grammys at this year’s ceremony, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year — had the audience at Crypto.com Arena in the palm of her hand with a gut-busting act. (See the complete winners list from the 2025 Grammy Awards.)
Beginning her number dressed in a sparkled tux, Sabrina fought to find the spotlight, which kept moving at the same time as her. Once she found her light, she attempted to twirl a baton, which quickly flew away from her after she dropped it, leaving her looking slightly embarrassed.
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She powered through, though, and began a jazzy version of her hit "Espresso" while descending from the top of a white staircase. But as she kept walking, she kept descending, eventually being hidden from behind the staircase.
It was at that moment the audience confirmed Carpenter was performing a vaudeville-style act and they were ready to laugh along.
After she changed into a blue, crystal-covered Victoria's Secret bodysuit, she continued singing "Espresso" with a crew of backup dancers, though her malfunctions didn't end. While dancing on a set built to look like a house, the lights began to flicker and the walls fell, prompting Carpenter to scream and jump into one of her dancer's arms, who spun her and caused her to laugh.
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The rest of her routine featured a medley with "Please Please Please," dancers running into each other, a tap dance break and laughs from Carpenter and the crowd, which host Trevor Noah quickly noted.
"That was amazing and funny, which I didn't appreciate," the comedian said. "You're gonna do funny too, Sabrina? Really? You're just gonna take my job like that?"
While Carpenter is certainly a pro on stage, she is new to the experience of being a Grammy-nominated artist, as evidenced by the celebrations she and her team had when the nominations were revealed.
“Us on the tour bus this morning take a shot every time we scream,” she captioned her Instagram post that included a video of her crew freaking out. “This is the first year I’ve watched the live stream where i heard my name! I’d be lying if i said i hadn’t dreamt about this day my whole life so i am filled with gratitude- Thank you.”
In the video, Carpenter — who is also nominated for Best New Artist, despite having six albums under her belt — also commented on her shock of being among the nominees, joking that she’s “best old artist.”
And while Carpenter’s turn on the Grammys stage was her first — just like her fellow Best New Artist nominees Benson Boone, Chappell Roan and Doechii — her cheeky number was no coincidence, as she loves to shock the crowd with her NSFW sets.
In September, the 25-year-old took the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards to perform a medley of songs from her "Short N’ Sweet" album, bringing along a spacesuit-wearing astronaut and a seductive blue alien. After separating the pair and kicking the astronaut off stage, Carpenter — who was dating Barry Keoghan at the time — planted multiple steamy kisses on the alien, before also kicking her off the stage.
And these headline-making moments weren’t the first time she has leaned into her sexuality on stage. Carpenter also built a reputation throughout her "Short N’ Sweet" tour — which was attended by multiple stars, including Jack Antonoff, Margaret Qualley and "Saturday Night Live"’s Marcello Hernandez — of being a bit risqué during her shows, even miming an NSFW act during her song “Juno” when singing the lyrics, “How you ever tried this one?”
